Final Worlds
by AngelP
Summary: Commentary UP! Loki decided, after all, to stay on earth. No one understood why, not even Loki himself. Displeased with Loki's choice, Odin decides to take matters into his own hands, causing Ragnarok to draw nearer... LokiMayu You have been warned :D
1. Default Chapter

Final Worlds  
  
Author's Notes:  
  
A long long time ago, there was a fanfiction.net writer by the name of Angel_P. She wrote many many Card Captor Sakura fanfics. After a while, she realized that she was losing her flare of FanFiction writing, and parted on a journey. While travelling, she found her lost inspiration and incorporated this with the goodness of Matantei Loki Ragnarok.  
  
From this day on, Angel_P (aka Pichan) will be working on a new fanfiction story, based on the anime Loki.  
  
Please enjoy this next story. ^_^  
  
A few footnotes: This is my version of an alternate ending of Loki. ^^;... I have little knowledge of the second half of the manga series, so I'm completely nullifying that here and making this a continuation from the anime. So no Spica, no Utgartha Loki... and... uhmmm yeah :) Although this fic is MayuraxLoki, I've included some KotarouxMayura for reasons you need not know until later. :)  
  
Oh yes. I recommend you watch the whole series of Ragnarok before you read this. I'm trying my hardest to relate it to everything here and there. ^^; well. Trying. Haha... ha...  
  
Disclaimers: Matantei Loki (Ragnarok) is owned by Sakura Kinoshita. Everyone must discover the goodness of her works. XD  
  
Loki decided, after all, to stay on earth. No one understood why, not even Loki himself. Displeased with Loki's choice, Odin decides to take matters into his own hands... (MayuraxLoki. You have been warned. ^_~)  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
It was dark. Too dark. Loki couldn't see anything. Everywhere he looked, and everywhere he ran; it all seemed like a never-ending abyss. It was cold, and... it certainly was very lonely. Everytime he tried to open his mouth to call someone, hoping someone would show up and say they'll be with him. But no voice came from his mouth, and no reply could be heard. He soon decided to give up hope, sit down, and wait for something to happen. But before he could proceed, a flutter of feathers could be heard, not very far from where he stood. After the dark feathers started to clear, he caught a glimpse of a figure... he couldn't quite make him out, but the figure slowly transfigured into a faint colour of blue. It became black again.  
  
Loki wasn't sure of what was going on until the figure right in front that caused the reoccuring black fell onto him. It was warm and heavy. A warm liquid started to drip down his fingers where he had caught the figure. The liquid took a red colour, and he slowly realised the figure was...  
  
"MAYURA!"  
  
Loki threw off his blankets and jerked up in a cold sweat. His heart was beating so fast, it fluctuated his sight. It took a moment for him to pull himself back into reality, as his furniture slowly came into focus. He realized his place, and soon figured there was no need for worry any more. It was merely a dream that wished to cause him suffering.  
  
At least he hoped so.  
  
He would confront the matter with the Norns later. There was absolutely no need to rush. He slipped out of bed, almost sure that what he yelled was only a part of his dream. Otherwise, Yamino would have already rushed in the door awaiting his orders.  
  
It's been about a week since Loki decided not to return to Asgard. There hasn't been any trouble lately, and Loki was very grateful for that. It was well understood that he had to return soon and commence Ragnarok. And it probably would have happened back then. But... no one; not even he, understood why he decided to stay. If he had left, he would definitely feel something missing. Something from this everyday life... Something that he had learned from Mayura...  
  
Something...  
  
"Aaaahhh.... don't tell me there's nothing to do today..." Mayura complained as she threw herself on the couch. "Even if it's just a prank..."  
  
"Punyaan! Loki-tama, are you okay?" Ecchan bounced on Loki's head.  
  
Loki blinked and noticed that half the day had already passed. He'd been so absorbed in his thought, he didn't even notice Mayura walk in the door, nor did he notice he was sitting at his desk. He looked to his right and there sat a teacup that Yamino had just recently placed there. He reached for it and patiently took a sip out of his teacup. Loki reached above his head and patted what looked like an invisible pad of air to Mayura.  
  
"People do come. But it *has* been a quiet week." Loki said, thinking to himself he would much rather have this kind of peace everyday. Although he had to admit, it's been too peaceful. Odin hasn't tried anything funny lately...  
  
"That's not enough! There has GOT to be more than enough weird mysteries around in this town to at least keep us busy!"  
  
"Actually, it's a lot more peaceful since less people have been coming," mused Loki. "It's chaotic enough with you parading around all day."  
  
Mayura wasn't pleased at all with Loki's behaviour. Even though it was in his nature, she didn't know exactly why she put up with him. She puffed up her chest to show how mad she was and fumed, while Loki just returned a simple whole-hearted smile. This happened often, and Loki knew he had no reason to feel bad. She would change her mind soon enough. He reached down and patted Fenrir on the head as he nuzzled his nostril against the hand resting on the armrest.  
  
"Fine, I'm going home for the day." Mayura announced, as she packed her things.  
  
Loki didn't pay much mind as he played with his cup. "Well, I guess we won't need your help if a client DOES come today."  
  
Mayura pouted. It was obviously a joke, but after finding out she flunked yet another test, she was hardly in the mood of being picked on. She packed her things, and pushed open the doors to the stairway as she ran into Yamino.  
  
"Going already??" asked a puzzled Yamino. "Won't you stay at least for some cake?"  
  
Mayura shook her head. "I'm heading home for the day," she restated. "Loki's being a meanie and won't let me brood here."  
  
Yamino smiled nervously at her reply. "Well then, we shall see you later."  
  
"Bye bye Yamino-kun! Loki-kun! Fenrir-kun!"  
  
The room remained silent as the girl's footsteps echoed in the hallway. Loki didn't really care, because he knew she'd be back just in time for Yamino's cooked dinner. But just as he was about to relax, something triggered at the back of his head.  
  
Something was watching him.  
  
He twirled his head quickly and looked outside the window behind him, but there was nothing to be seen.  
  
"Loki-sama?" Yamino perked his head in curiousity.  
  
"Daddy? What happened?"  
  
"It's nothing," Loki stated, as he returned to his natural pose. Unsure, but satisfied with the answer, Yamino resumed his chores. Fenrir was just content enough to be curled up on Loki's lap.  
  
Loki turned on the TV to listen to the news, and it was only immediately that his eyes and ears were perked, and the broadcaster had his full attention.  
  
*****  
  
"Papa, I'm home!" Mayura's voice echoed through the traditional house, but there was no reply.  
  
She never knew whether her father would be home or not anymore. Not since she started spending so much time at Loki's house. There was no note left or anything, which meant he probably assumed she was still at Loki's. That pretty much meant he'd be home within two or three hours.  
  
She wasn't really mad with Loki. Sure, she was mad at him when he teased her, but she just felt the need to leave. To think. Loki's disappearance occured a week ago, and she was particularly careful in poking her nose in his business from then on. She had pondered ever since; up until now, she still pondered about those mysterious glowing red eyes of his. There were so many questions she wanted answered. However, she felt strongly that if she asked, there was a high possibility of Loki disappearing again. Since then, she minded her own business.  
  
Loki fascinated her. He was a weird mystery himself.  
  
At that instant, her deepest desire was to become a super-sleuth; one who could even decode the code Loki has written himself in.  
  
She walked into her room to leave her stuff, only to find her window open. But not only was her window open, the most beautiful raven was sitting on her desk. It seemed to be wearing meticulously embroidered garments. They were rather small, and with all the jewels, it would make one wonder how it flies. The raven just stared at her as she slowly crept forward. It wasn't scared at all. In fact, it seemed to take as much interest in her as she did in the raven. Mayura soon snapped out of her trance when she noticed what the raven was holding in its beak.  
  
"My photos!" Mayura gasped.  
  
This scared the raven, and it took flight, along with one of Mayura's photos, with Mayura yelling and chasing after it. She just developped them, and was hoping to put them in a photo album. She looked through the photos to see which one it took.  
  
"AHH!! The picture of me with Loki-kun!!!!!" She whined. It was one of the only pictures that not only Loki looked good in; she looked pretty good in the picture herself. She dragged herself to the living room and sighed, telling herself it's not a once in a life-time opportunity. She sat down and turned on the TV.  
  
"...wasn't just yesterday. Doctors found no reason for the person to have fallen in a coma, and was never thought of having something more involved when today, six more people fell into a similar coma, all happening around the Midorigi park..."  
  
Mayura's eyes widened at this new piece of information. It was a mystery, that was for sure. And according to her, this couldn't have been just a mere coincidence. The immediate thought that was slapped into her mind was going down to Loki's, and reporting what she had just found out.  
  
Completely forgetting about her homework, she ran to the entrance, slipped on her shoes, and she was gone in an instant.  
  
*****  
  
"Where were you?" Loki asked as he was waiting in the entrance. "I was sure you would've been here sooner."  
  
Mayura pouted. "Hey, I got here as fast as I could!! What're you waiting around there for, anyways? We're going to miss the mystery!!!"  
  
"It's not going to run away..." Yamino assured. "However, it's a rather big concern that people are mysteriously falling unconcious..."  
  
Mayura wasn't listening. She was already on her way, fired up for solving another wierd mystery. Loki sighed, and followed the transformed girl, now wearing glasses that would make one wonder how exactly she could see through them. It was at a point like this he almost wished he didn't know her. However, even though he made it clear that if a mystery came, he would go without her, he still couldn't help but wait for Mayura. It wasn't really that much of an emergency to him, although something really bothered him about this. There was a lingering familiar feeling that he just couldn't shake off. He didn't even notice that they were at the park, until Mayura started yanking at his sleeve.  
  
"Loki-kun!" Mayura said cheerfully, grabbing Loki's arm. She completely interrupted his train of thought, like usual.  
  
Loki yelped, and looked at Mayura with a rather annoyed look. "What now??"  
  
Mayura pointed at a shy photographer, giggling with glee. "He's gonna take our picture! Cuz you see, the picture Yamino-kun took for us before, an odd looking crow stole it, so I want another one! He isn't asking for much either, so...!"  
  
He looked at the photographer's basket. He was charging a low price, that was for sure. But the basket only held a few mere coins. He became lost in thought again as Mayura babbled and ranted on. However, it wasn't long until he was interrupted again. Mayura had begun pinching his cheeks, making sure he was listening.  
  
"You *HAVE* to smile!" Mayura stressed.  
  
"Mayura..."  
  
"A nice, PRETTY smile!"  
  
"...Mayura..."  
  
"You always smirk!"  
  
"Mayu-"  
  
"Smirks aren't nice!"  
  
"MAYURA!"  
  
Mayura blinked.  
  
"You never get serious, do you?? I thought we came here on a cas-"  
  
Before Loki could finish his sentence, Mayura had dragged him to pose in front of the camera man.  
  
"Now, smile!" She ordered. "Jeez, it's not like you haven't taken a picture before, Loki. It's just another regular camera. Like it'll take your SOUL or something."  
  
Loki was not amused. For one, he really didn't like anyone taking his picture. For another, he was really hoping he could find out what EXACTLY was causing the comas within the victims. It was definitely unnatural. And the cause only happened at the park. Loki sighed hoplessly as Ecchan settled himself on Loki's head, poised and ready for a photo. Yamino frowned in disapproval, but like usual, he couldn't really do anything except watch.  
  
'Not like it'll take your soul...'  
  
Soul...  
  
"Uhmm... sorry I'm taking so long..." the nervous photographer stumbled. "My camera's been acting up lately... and... well... Anyways! Say cheese!"  
  
There. He felt it there. He took immediate reaction; it wasn't long before the photographer's camera met the ground. Mayura stared in disbelief, and Ecchan landed softly beside her, blown off by the force Loki had created.  
  
"Loki-kun... what..."  
  
"I apologize..." Loki said, looking at the shocked photographer. "...but that camera... don't use it."  
  
"But... that camera... my..."  
  
"I can reimburse you for it." Loki was really glad Thor wasn't around to give him a lecture about having an attachment to objects, especially after he found out what the real problem was.  
  
"Loki-kun! How could you??" Mayura fumed sternly.  
  
"I already apologized." Loki explained. It turned out she wasn't listening to him, however, because now her attention was drawn to a moving camera. Of course, she couldn't see the huge evil spirit towering over her. The photographer was able to, quite clearly, actually. He was already almost out of sight in fear.  
  
"NO!" Loki gasped, kicking the camera away. He smashed it with the end of his staff. And surprisingly, that was the end of it.  
  
Yamino ran up to Loki, completely unknowing of what had just happened.  
  
"Andvari's ring... it took the souls of the people making their bodies lifeless shells..." Loki murmured.  
  
"Andvari...!!? Wasn't that the ring that..." Yamino started, shock blatant in his voice.  
  
"Yes, the ring that almost killed me. Odin's still trying to kill me..."  
  
Yamino frowned. "Even if you want nothing from him anymore?"  
  
"I still want revenge on him, Yamino. Because Hel..." Loki looked down in sorrow.  
  
"...and the victims?" Yamino tried to change the subject slightly.  
  
"Their souls were only held within the ring. They'll be returned shortly..."  
  
"What're you guys talking about?" Mayura popped inbetween them, causing them to slightly freak out.  
  
"UHMM..." Yamino started.  
  
"Well... you see..." Loki continued.  
  
"We were... were... ROLEPLAYING!" Yamino babbled out.  
  
Loki gave him a puzzled look. "Roleplaying???"  
  
"Yes! Because, you see... all of a sudden, I was greatly inspired with a new idea, and... I just HAD to roleplay it out! Loki has some pretty good ideas, you know." Yamino nervously covered.  
  
"You guys are weird," Mayura stated, lifting an eyebrow. "I never knew you guys took up an interest in roleplaying! It's the latest hit in school lately though, so it's no wonder. We should do that sometime!"  
  
Loki gave an unsatisfied look to Yamino, but all Yamino could do was return an apologetic face.  
  
*****  
  
Mayura had dragged them to look around the park all day for clues, but she had finally given up. Especially after Loki convinced her the victims were already okay, and there would be no happenings anymore. After complaining some, she took Loki and Yamino to the nearest sticker booth. After all this work, she wasn't about to go home empty handed. She looked at her half of the stickers. Again, the pink pillow with a face mysteriously appeared on Loki's head, and he had that AWFUL smirk again. But she took that back. It wasn't really awful at all. In fact, if Loki hadn't smiled like that, it wouldn't be Loki  
  
at all. That was just the way Loki is, and for what reason, she'll probably never know. She was at a loss, for this was one mystery that will remain unsolved. Not unless she wanted to break her friendship with Loki.  
  
*****  
  
A space this big was completely wasted; a huge palace hall endowed with grand, blood-coloured velvet curtains, small pillars lining the hallway as they kissed the floor... and stairs leading up to an area with a throne, with a wide balcony not far behind. It was completely empty, as if a kingdom had died. The atmosphere was quite fitting, too. Cold, and silent.  
  
"Huginn..." summoned a soft, icy voice from the balcony. An arm was extended, and a black raven, embroidered with jewels, came to rest on it.  
  
The raven adjusted itself after its long trip, and settled down, staring into his master's deep dark eyes. These dark eyes led into a river of long, wispy, white hair. The raven held a photograph in its beak, and insisted that his master should take a look. After a long silence, the man dressed in elegant clothing fit for a king took the photo and slowly closed his eyes.  
  
"I see..." he concluded, as if he just had a conversation with the raven. "Then you are to continue, Huginn, with your brother Muninn. You are to watch their actions carefully."  
  
He lifted his arm, and the raven took flight. The raven was soon joined by another, dressed in the same embroidery as he. The man stood in silence for a while, watching over the misty valleys and firey mountains, as if he were pondering. He took leave of the balcony and placed himself in the throne.  
  
"Then I shall give my dear adopted brother a visit..." he murmured as his lips curled into a sadistic grin. "We shall soon find out... what exactly... his attachment to the human world is."  
  
He stood up before the empty hallway, as if there were people that would mysteriously appear to bow down before him.  
  
"Ragnarok won't be far off if you keep this up, dear Loki..." the voice hissed. "But never fear, for I will kill you before that happens..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Phew, I'm tired! I have so many ideas for this fic, so I'm hoping they will all work out!  
  
Perhaps it is kinda odd that I'm still adding, using norse myths to continue the story plot. But that will slowly disappear.  
  
I will bring in more Loki and Mayuraness in due time. ^_^;; Hopefully the New Year won't be too busy to prevent me from  
  
writing. ^_^ I'm actually kind of excited... _ ahahah. That's what makes me all the more pathetic. YAY.  
  
Until chapter 2! 


	2. Arrival

Final Worlds  
  
Author's Notes:  
  
A long long time ago, there was a fanfiction.net writer by the name of Angel_P. She wrote many many Card Captor Sakura fanfics. After a while, she realized that she was losing her flare of FanFiction writing, and parted on a journey. While travelling, she found her lost inspiration and incorporated this with the goodness of Matantei Loki Ragnarok. From this day on, Angel_P (aka Pichan) will be working on a new fanfiction story, based on the anime Loki.  
  
Please enjoy this next story. ^_^  
  
A few footnotes: This is my version of an alternate ending of Loki. ^^;... I have little knowledge of the second half of the manga series, so I'm completely nullifying that here and making this a continuation from the anime. So no Spica, no Utgartha  
  
Loki... and... uhmmm yeah :) Although this fic is MayuraxLoki, I've included some KotarouxMayura for reasons you need not know until later. :)  
  
Disclaimers: Matantei Loki (Ragnarok) is owned by Sakura Kinoshita. Everyone must discover the goodness of her works. XD  
  
Loki decided, after all, to stay on earth. No one understood why, not even Loki himself. Displeased with Loki's choice,  
  
Odin decides to take matters into his own hands... (MayuraxLoki. You have been warned. ^_~)  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The chimes echoed throughout the school, singing into everyone's ears that school was over. Mayura packed her belongings, anxious to get out and run to Loki's house. She had put the photo sticker on one of her binders, and she gave it a brief glimpse before putting it back into her bag. She closed it, and took a couple of steps, but it wasn't long until she was abruptly stopped by a long wooden sword sitting in front of her face.  
  
"Aahhhhhhhh Narugami-kunnnn..." Mayura complained. He knew where she was going, and should have no right to stop her.  
  
"A favour, Daidouji!" Narugami threw a pleading face at Mayura. "Can you take over cleaning duty for me today?? I just got a new job, see... pays big... and I *really* can't be late for my first shift... I don't know how I can pay you back, but I *REALLY* need to go..."  
  
Mayura frowned. "That's more important than solving mysteries??? What if there's a case there??!?!"  
  
Narugami sighed. "I've heard that there haven't been any cases for a WEEK."  
  
"There was one yesterday."  
  
"You can miss just one, PLEASE??" Narugami whined. "If I can, maybe I'll treat you to a free meal, DEPENDING."  
  
Mayura put her hand on her forehead in frustration. "If I miss a case, it's TOTALLY your fault and I will NEVER help you again."  
  
Narugami said a quick thankyou and a bow, and rushed out the door. Mayura couldn't believe she just agreed to him. The beautiful girl of the Enjaku Detective Agency shouldn't be kept away!! But of course, she was just too nice. She pouted and brooded all the way to the broom closet.  
  
"I didn't know you're doing cleaning duty today, Daidouji."  
  
Mayura glanced at the classmate who was talking to her. "Kotarou-kun??"  
  
"Need help?" He offered.  
  
Mayura was completely infatuated with him at that instant, throwing sparkly eyes and everything at him. "You'll do it for me??!?!?!"  
  
"HAH, do it FOR you? You've got to be kidding me. I offered you HELP. That didn't necessarily mean I'd take over." Kotarou replied. "Besides. Helping out impresses the girls. I can't fade on my reputation, you know."  
  
Mayura went back to brooding. Impressing girls was all he ever did. She never should've agreed in the first place. But after thinking about it, she realized that she would much rather get the cleaning over with and be at Loki's as soon as possible. She handed him a broom while she glared at him, while he returned a smirk. With a humph, she started sweeping her side of the room. But as she swept, the image of the crow that visited her window earlier slowly appeared in her mind. She slowed down and stopped.  
  
"Ne, Kotarou-kun..." Mayura looked at him in hopes of an answer. "Have you seen any crows lately? With... let's say... clothing and jewels?"  
  
Kotarou looked back at her, and raised a brow. "You've probably been watching too much fantasy, Daidouji. A figment of your imagination or something."  
  
Mayura frowned as she gripped tigher on the broom and looked at the floor. It was really odd. It came and seemed to want just that picture, or something. The fact that it showed so much interest, was really disturbing. But after thinking for a while, she came to an absolute conclusion.  
  
The crow was a ghost and wanted something to do with the mysterious pink bubble that appears in all of Loki's pictures. And she was lucky enough to see it!  
  
"WEIRD MYSTERY!!!!!!!!" Mayura screamed excitedly as she cupped a hand on her cheek and swooned until she knelt on the floor.  
  
At this point, her classmates were giving her looks of fear, and they decided that it was probably better to stay clear from her for the rest of cleaning duty.  
  
*****  
  
In his shrouded room, with no windows nor decoration, Heimdall was deep in thought and plot. He was meticulously piecing together what looked like a black Brisings necklace together. As he connected each piece, he made much effort for incorporating as much evil and hatred as he could. It was to be a present for Freya, so he could conduct yet another plan for killing Loki.  
  
He didn't have that much of a grudge against him anymore. He still hated him, even after the whole ordeal about his eye. But something in Loki seemed to be slowly changing, and the more Loki changed, the more his grudge seemed to cease. However, quitting was not an option. It was an order from Odin, and he had to finish the job. But after the eye ordeal, he wasn't sure if he was doing this to follow Odin's orders anymore. He felt somewhat betrayed, but he never heard anything from Odin himself.  
  
"Freyr is back!!!" Freyr announced as he stepped in Heimdall's room. Heimdall was quite annoyed, and turned around slowly hoping to shoo him away quickly.  
  
"What do you want?" He asked in a rutheful tone.  
  
"Freyr came to tell you how mean you are! You missed a once in a lifetime sale, and Freyr could only get this much! How could you, Heimdall??" Freyr pouted as he dumped all the bags he was able to carry on a nearby table.  
  
"I told you, I have an IMPORTANT JOB to do." Heimdall growled, gritting his teeth.  
  
"Who cares about Loki?? Freyr told you that this Freyr will take care of Loki! Especially for his dear sister's sake!"  
  
"But you aren't DOING anything!!"  
  
Freyr brushed off Heimdall's anger and continued to pout and complain like usual. Heimdall was annoyed, but ending up putting up with it. He was used to it, but that wasn't the case today. He was almost finished the necklace, and was hoping to get the job done as soon as possible. He put the finishing touches, and the necklace turned into a brilliant gold.  
  
"Now, if you'll excuse me," Heimdall muttered, pleased with his finished creation. He wanted to get out as soon as possible, as he did not want to bother putting up with Freyr. Not now.  
  
"Heimdall! Where are you going?"  
  
"I'm going to give a present to a girl." Heimdall said with a smirk.  
  
Heimdall left without question, and he was quite thankful for that. He stressed on the idea again that he REALLY didn't want Freyr to tag along. It seemed to be in his nature to always mess things up even further.  
  
It wasn't long before he found himself in front of Reiya's mansion. He walked up the steps and clutched the wrapped box in his arms. He knocked a few times, and that was replied with an open door and a butler. Heimdall had no choice but to act innocent as the butler looked him over.  
  
"May I ask who you are?" The butler queried.  
  
Heimdall 'shyly' put his arms behind his back, raised his shoulders and smiled. "My name is Kazumi Higashiyama. I'm a friend of Loki-kun and Reiya-chan. May I play with Reiya-chan in the park today?"  
  
The butler smiled back. "Well. You're talking about the park around the corner, right? I don't see why not. Please, hold on a moment."  
  
Heimdall relaxed as the butler left to get Reiya. He really hated acting cute. With a passion. He wasn't able to relax long, however, because Reiya came to the door. Reiya did not recognize him, though. She gave him an unsure look.  
  
"Reiya-chan!" Heimdall beamed. "I'm Kazumi Higashiyama, a friend of Loki-kun's."  
  
"Oh, really??" Reiya smiled happily.  
  
"Y-yeah! W-well... I told your butler that I came to play, but I also came to give you something from Loki-kun. But let's go to the park and open it there, okay??" Heimdall spoke nervously, hoping Reiya wouldn't expect anything.  
  
And Heimdall got exactly what he wanted. Reiya blushed furiously. "F...From Loki-sama?? Th-then... let's go!"  
  
The two arrived shortly at the park, and Reiya started to open her present excitedly. She was filled with more glee when she found a pretty necklace in the box.  
  
"Wow! That looks really pretty! Why don't you try it on??" Heimdall insisted.  
  
"Yeah!" Reiya blushed happily, and made no delay in applying the necklace as Heimdall assisted her. She danced around with it and looked at Heimdall.  
  
"Kazumi-san, how does it look?"  
  
"It suits you PERFECTLY." Heimdall smirked. A bright light emitted from the girl, as she collapsed, and her hair faded into a dark, ebony black.  
  
*****  
  
"I see," mused Urd, as she took a sip from her cup.  
  
Loki had just explained his dream to the three norns. He looked at them anxiously, hoping for an answer. They all seemed deep in thought. Well, not so much Skuld, as she seemed to be stealing glances at him every once in a while. But he didn't mind that. In fact, it wouldn't be Skuld if she didn't so so, and he would probably begin to worry.  
  
"I honestly can't say," Verdandi concluded as she sighed. "There has been no decision made on whether the girl should live or die."  
  
Urd nodded. "It could be some sort of premonition though. And at the same time, it could be just an ordinary dream."  
  
"Y-yes! So you must be careful if you find yourself in a setting very similar, especially if she's going to be with you." Skuld added. "Of course, you've already had a bad feeling about it in the first place, so all we can really recommend is to take extra caution..."  
  
Loki lowered his head in thought. He was really hoping he would get a straight answer out of this, but even the norns weren't sure what would happen with such a dream. In defeat, he sighed and put aside his teacup.  
  
"Well then, I guess I must be going." He announced.  
  
"Already?" Skuld asked, almost sad.  
  
Loki nodded. "I told Yamino-kun I wouldn't be gone for long."  
  
And with that, Loki took his leave as the norns bid him farewell. After he left, Urd took yet another sip of tea. Something was troubling her. Was something to happen to that girl? She surely was an ordinary human being, but after every event, something seemed to be pulling her towards the affairs of the gods. A pure human being. But, exactly what purpose is she playing within them?  
  
Loki was somehow relieved after thinking it over. He was beginning to be convinced that it was just a dream, especially after the norns couldn't give much thought on it. But something was still bothering him. If it really was just a dream, he wouldn't really care so much. But even if it was just a dream, he wondered if he would still worry.  
  
He opened the doors to the living room and found the usual people there. Fenrir greeted him with a happy bark, and Ecchan immediately glued itself to Loki's head. Yamino, who had been serving cakes, greeted him politely. Mayura was also there. She greeted him with her usual smile; that smile that was so full of life.  
  
"Aah, hi Fenrir!" Loki beamed at the puppy as he patted him on the head lovingly. Loki made his way to his desk and seated himself neatly. Yamino followed not far behind with his tea, already prepared, and a small slice of black forest cake. Loki thanked Yamino, and proceeded to take a small bite from his cake. As the fork entered his mouth, his eyes rested on Mayura. And when he did that, he found he couldn't take them off of her.  
  
He felt really concerned. Perhaps it was since each day proceeded, she came closer and closer to finding out so much about the secrets they held. She already knew something was up. He knew that. He was careless, and she caught him while he was conducting his powers. He had almost wished it never happened, and it wouldn't have if he never met her. But if he had never met her...  
  
"What?" Mayura threw a questioning look at Loki. They both realized that he had been staring at her for quite some time already.  
  
"Nothing." He brushed it off briskly and sipped his tea. Instead of staring at her this time, he stared at his desk, as the dream recollected in his head. The cold dark air surrounded him as a heap of heavy warmth that fell upon him, which slowly turned into liquid. And as he took a good look at who it was...  
  
"Ahh! Hey!" Mayura was continuing from her usual bubbly talk from before. "There's this REALLY good place not too far from here that just opened! I can go stop by; they have the BEST takoyaki I've tasted by far!"  
  
Yamino smiled nervously. "Really?"  
  
Mayura grinned. "Of course, if Yamino-kun made some, those would be even better! But you already said you don't have the supplies, so this way is obviously faster! And if you try it, you could probably figure out how to make it!"  
  
"Mayura-san, that's too much. I'm really not that good." Yamino fended off modestly.  
  
"But it's true!" Mayura beamed as she pulled out her wallet. "Now, I should count how much I have first, before I... ... AHHHHH!!!!"  
  
"What happened?" Loki asked lazily.  
  
"All my money's gone! I had at LEAST 2,000 yen worth of coins in here!!" Mayura whined, crestfallen. She began a rabid search through her schoolbag, to make sure nothing fell out.  
  
"Are you sure you didn't spend it on some weird object you would find mysterious?" Loki sighed.  
  
"Loki, you meanie! I may love mysteries more than food, but I DO have the sense of keeping SOME extra money on me just in case!" Mayura whined. "Aaahhh that was my allowance... I just got it yesterday too..."  
  
Yamino couldn't help but feel sorry. "You don't have to worry about it so much. How much are the takoyaki? We can cover the costs."  
  
"Yamino-kun, you're very giving." Loki smiled proudly.  
  
Yamino smiled back as he reached for his wallet. But he too, was disappointed, as he found nothing more than pieces of lint in his. It wasn't long before Yamino was also raving about how much money he had this morning.  
  
Loki put his fingers on his chin in thought. "That's strange..."  
  
"MYSTERY!!!!!!!" Mayura squealed happily. "The leprochauns came to take our money!! They're stealing it so they can add it to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!!!"  
  
Loki frowned. "Mayura, first of all, there are no such thing as Leprochauns."  
  
She wasn't listening. She danced excitedly and fantasized exactly how she would run into a leprochaun.  
  
"Second of all, if there were, they wouldn't BE here, because that's a legend that belongs to Irela--"  
  
"LOKI-KUN! Let's look for Leprochauns!! I'll go on ahead!!" Mayura beamed as she raced out the door with her glasses.  
  
Loki sighed hopelessly and looked at Yamino. "I don't think we have a choice. Are you sure you didn't spend that money on an order that came in today?"  
  
Yamino shook his head. Loki sighed in comprehension, not really wanting to go anywhere. But then he realized that perhaps, he should make sure that everything was safe. His immediate thought was the broken Brisings Necklace that was in the drawer. It wasn't money, but it sure was gold. If his suspicions were correct...  
  
It was gone. He thought so, as they had this problem back in Asgard. He never actually saw who was taking it, but he knew that the woman was referred to as the Lady Gulveig. A woman who thrived on gold, stealing every little piece of gold she could find. Freyr had stopped that problem back then, but after that, no one really talked about who did it. Nobody knew who she was.  
  
"Yamino," Loki initiated. "Let's go." They both nodded as Loki recieved his reply. They climbed down the stairs, and when they went through the front door, they found strands of black hair scattered around the yard. It was scarce, so you could hardly see them. But they were there. They were quite easy to spot at their feet. The strands seemed to sense their aura, as the strands started to gather to form a shape.  
  
"It looks like our gold was intentionally stolen," Loki stated. "Shall we accept the invitation?"  
  
Yamino frowned. "Do we really have a choice?"  
  
Fenrir prodded up slowly behind them. "Daddy, what choice?"  
  
"We're gonna go catch a theif," Loki grinned. "Fenrir's coming too, right?"  
  
Fenrir wagged his tail in confirmation. It wasn't long after that when all the strands gathered and wove themselves together in a butterfly shape. As it completed, it struggled while trying to fly, and slowly staggared as it made its way out of the yard. Loki, Yamino and Fenrir all followed closely. They met Freyr on the way, who was also busy complaining about his missing money.  
  
"Ah! Loki!" Freyr piped. "Your actions are too suspicious! Freyr wants to know what you're doing!"  
  
A sweatdrop trickled down the side of Loki's head as he raised a brow. "We're trying to find out who took our money."  
  
"TOO SUSPICIOUS!" Freyr announced. "This Freyr is going to monitor you! Freyr is certain Freyr will find his lost money if he follows Loki!"  
  
Yamino smiled nervously. "I guess we have no choice in this either, do we?"  
  
A heavy sigh escaped from Loki. "Do as you please."  
  
It wasn't long before the group arrived at the mansion that Freyr and Heimdall were staying at. It seemed as if they were finally there, as the woven butterfly disappeared. Loki and Yamino looked at Freyr. But Freyr wasn't shocked, or nervously denying anything. In fact, he was royally pissed off.  
  
"AH! WHAT A CRIME! THAT IS UNFORGIVEABLE! USING FREYR'S HOME TO KEEP ALL YOUR STOLEN MONEY!" He yelled, fuming. Loki sighed and muttered to himself that the situation is making Freyr the suspicious one.  
  
"Okay, okay." Loki sighed. "Don't you think it's time we went in to FIND the problem?"  
  
Freyr just silently followed as Loki made his way inside, as he was still too busy muttering what a disgrace it was to have a thief using his house. Never mind the fact that Freyr was a thief himself. Loki was poking through every room and door (except for Freyr's room, because of course, Freyr would never allow such an act). It wasn't until they reached the last room when they began to think.  
  
"But that's odd... there hasn't even been any traps or anything laid out..." Loki pondered, holding his chin.  
  
Yamino slightly nodded in agreement, when Freyr began to laugh.  
  
"And you call yourself a detective!! Although Freyr is a thief, Freyr would probably make a much better detective than you!" He yelled proudly as he kicked a wall. A ladder fell as an almost immediate reaction. "Because you see, there's an attic in Freyr's house too."  
  
Loki couldn't help but snicker. Freyr was annoying, but his endless rambles of pride amused him to no end. And at times like these, his pride came in quite handy. Loki took hold of the ladder and began to climb, with Freyr following and Yamino going up last. Of course, Yamino was holding Fenrir, as Fenrir would have been really upset if he were to be left out.  
  
Grabbing the flooring for support, Loki pulled himself up. He didn't see it quite well yet, but sure enough, he heard the sounds of coins, and saw the glares of silver and gold. But when he looked up, he saw something that he NEVER expected.  
  
"FREYA!" Loki gasped.  
  
Freyr took immediate response as he came up. "Freya's here??!"  
  
Loki took a firm grasp on his wand. There was something wrong. It was Freya, all right. It was her face, and her aura was all there. But, not only did her glowing looks become witch-like, she didn't cling to him at first sight with high-pitched callings of his name. Her hair was black, and her eyes glowed an evil purple. And she was counting every single precious piece of gold she recieved. But she was disturbed by the presence of intruders, and immediately shot a glare at Loki.  
  
"Who dares disturb me??!" She howled.  
  
"FREYA!" Loki yelled at her. "Get a hold of yourself!"  
  
It wasn't long before her long strands of hair envelopped around Loki, attempting to strangle him. "Dear little boy, my name is not Freya. I am Lady Gulveig, the richest lady of all Asgard!"  
  
Loki, desperately trying to cut off what was choking him, attempted to speak. "Freya! You're engulfed with greed! And we're not EVEN in Asgard!"  
  
Freya's glare pierced deeper in Loki. "Keep your mouth shut."  
  
Loki continued to struggle as her grip tightened. It was immediately released when Yamino gave her a firm karate chop on the name of her neck. Freya stumbled a little, trying to focus her sight. But while she was doing that, Loki worked his magic.  
  
His wand gave a faint green glow, as if it were gathering all the particles of light, and sent them to envelope Freya. It seemed to be working, as her hair changed to blonde for a quick second, but it faded right away. Loki cursed to himself, immediately looking for other options.  
  
He noticed the necklace. She was wearing it, but the Brisings necklace was supposed to be broken. Yamino and Fenrir were yelling words of warning as he began to dodge Freya's replenished attacks. Finally, he saw an opening and took advantage of it. He summoned the particles of light again, and made a direct hit at the Brisings Necklace. The now obviously fake necklace turned black on contact with the light, and quickly discintigrated. Loki sighed in relief as he began to recollect his composure.  
  
Freyr wasn't quite sure what was going on. The girl who Loki had called Freya, engaged in a fight with him, and turned to Freya for a second. But before he knew it, she was the little girl everyone knew as Reiya. He was totally confused, and came to the conclusion that Freya had once again, disappeared from his grasp.  
  
Loki sweatdropped as Freyr began his ramblings, which instantly stopped when Loki recommended that he should go buy Taiyaki. And he happily did so.  
  
Yamino was carrying Reiya out of the building lot, when she came to.  
  
"Where am I?" She pondered.  
  
"Are you okay?" Loki smiled sweetly at her. "You seemed to be very tired and fell asleep.  
  
Reiya frowned in confusing. "Reiya's okay, but... was Reiya with Loki-sama? The last thing Reiya remembers is playing with Higashiyama-kun in the park... ...OH! That's right! Loki-sama, thank you for the neckla..." Reiya's voice trailed off in disappointment when she realized the necklace wasn't around her neck.  
  
Loki's eyes narrowed. Heimdall was still at it, and he didn't know himself when exactly he was going to end.  
  
Heimdall wasn't far away. He had his arms crossed, leaning against the building in his backyard, deep in thought. Of course Loki flew gracefully through his plans. He should've expected it. He wasn't really upset about the fact that he lost, and continued to wonder why exactly he was fighting Loki. He still loathed Loki with all his might, but after all the fights they went through, Heimdall began to wonder if it was really worth it anymore. He closed his eyes and told himself that there was always a next time.  
  
*****  
  
The sun was setting, and Mayura was on her way back to Loki's to report her findings. It seemed she ran away from him too fast, as she didn't see him since she left. But she was totally disappointed. She looked for every rainbow she could find, but no Leprochaun to be found. She closed her eyes in sorrow. And when she did, she felt something heavy in her pocket. Surprised, she fished out her wallet which was full of her money. Her eyes widened.  
  
"Did I just put it back in my wallet? No... my wallet was empty all day..." Her eyes full of thought suddenly sparkled. "WIERD MYSTERY!!!!!!"  
  
She arrived at Loki's gates, and in front, stood a man with long, wispy, silvery hair. Mayura looked at the mysterious man, with her hand upon one gate. She jumped when the gate creaked from her pressure, and the man with silvery hair slowly turned around until his eyes met hers.  
  
His eyes were a cold blue. Mayura was somehow drawn into them, and let herself in as she walked closer.  
  
"Good evening," he greeted respectfully.  
  
"Good... evening..." Mayura slowly replied. His voice amplified how she was currently feeling by many times.  
  
"Is this, by any chance, the mansion in which Loki resides? No one seemed to be home, so I was waiting..."  
  
"Y...yeah..." Mayura replied. "This is where Loki lives..."  
  
"I see." The man smiled. "Are you a friend of Loki's?"  
  
Mayura snapped out of her dreamy look and grinned proudly. "Not only that, I'm the Beautiful Super Detective Girl of this agency!"  
  
"That sounds so wonderful! You must be awfully smart." He didn't take off his smile. "And if that's what they call you, they sure are right. I'm ashamed that I didn't know such a beautiful girl lived around this area."  
  
Mayura's face became a crimson shade. Freyr hit on her all the time, but this time was different. Freyr was a nice, funny guy, but the new person was so mysterious and handsome. Just like that other guy, who always seemed familiar, though she could never guess who, assuming it was appropriate to call him Kami-sama. It was kind of hard to accept that she was just complimented by such a person, and was so absorbed in that thought, that it was only now that she realized that his lips met hers.  
  
He kissed her.  
  
Her eyes were open wider in shock, and her stare was immediately focused on the gate as she heard sounds of gold drop on the ground. Yamino and Fenrir were staring in wonder and confusion. And Loki, who seemed to be crest-fallen, had the deepest look of shock on his face, desperately wanting to say something, but seemed defeated to do so.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
La la la la. Yay, I finished the second chapter, FINALLY.  
  
And, as I had expected, New Year's decided to take over and didn't allow me to finish.  
  
In the next chapter, we get to find out who this man is (although you could probably take a wild guess and be 100% right). And maybe get some Loki x Mayura action in it. *sparkle* Especially since now Mayura's gonna have trouble at school... la la la.  
  
Anyhow, I'm trying to make a good pace as much as possible. I don't want it to be fast, but I don't want it to be slow at all either. So, bear with me! I'll try to do my best! ^^  
  
Even if you didn't enjoy the story so far, I will continue to finish it. I have so many ideas for this fanfic, and I'm really happy with how it's going so far.  
  
Hugs to those who reviewed chapter 1! Your comments were lifting and encouraging ^^  
  
Any pieces of constructive criticism are warmly welcomed, as I would like to improve on the story along the way as well.  
  
Until next chapter!  
  
Pichan 


	3. Acquaintance

Final Worlds  
  
Author's Notes: Uhmm... sorry for the long time it took me to update ^^; school and junk took over. And I didn't have the computer where my fanfic lives. I didn't quite wanna jump from computer to computer ^^; hahahahaha..... *coughs*  
  
Anyhow! Things get somewhat exciting in this chapter. *evil glinting eyes* be prepared! *evil laugh*. I said I was gonna finish this fanfic no matter what. And eventually finished it's going to get! _ I still have the main ideas in my head, so... here we go!! ^_^  
  
Oh, before I go on, I'm thinking of making a small mailing list if you want to be alerted of new chapters, especially considering my odd schedule ^^;; it took me two weeks to post the second chapter, and then it took me... a month to post the third. Haha. I'm also considering making a doujinshi version of Final Worlds. I'm probably going to end up doing it if I have time, but what do you people think? :) Leave a comment with your email (or just email me at Angel_Pansie@hotmail.com with Final Worlds Mailing List in the subject. If email ends up not working you're better off posting a comment ;;; ) to get added to a list for emails :)  
  
Disclaimers: Matantei Loki (Ragnarok) is owned by Sakura Kinoshita. Everyone must discover the goodness of her works. XD  
  
Loki decided, after all, to stay on earth. No one understood why, not even Loki himself. Displeased with Loki's choice,  
  
Odin decides to take matters into his own hands... (MayuraxLoki. You have been warned. ^_~)  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Loki's hands trembled as his eyes fell upon the sight. Yamino and Fenrir were in complete shock as well, but even their shock combined didn't compare to the shock that Loki currently felt. Loki's mouth moved slightly, as if wanting to speak, but it didn't work. He was completely dumbfounded. It was in this area that he would terribly fail as a detective.  
  
He tried to recollect himself as much as he possibly could, and brought out Laevatein. As the mysterious man broke off the kiss from Mayura, Loki immediately placed himself in front of Mayura and held out his staff in a threatening horizontal position. Loki glared at the mysterious man in a penetrating style.  
  
"What the hell are you doing here?!" Loki demanded, looking for a reason.  
  
Mayura brought her hand up to her cheek as she stepped back, totally confused. They definitely knew eachother, but Loki was giving the man the most menacing look she had ever seen from him. She gulped as she ran over the possibilities. Worst enemies? Or maybe they were really just friends on bad terms. Or perhaps it was because the man had kissed her. But then why? Loki couldn't be jealous; he's only a little boy. Or maybe the man had some throat disease and Loki was upset that he was attempting to transfer it. Or maybe he's an alien that... that was definitely going too far. Mayura even had to admit this time that her imagination was running faster than the speed of light.  
  
"Answer me, Odin!" Loki growled again, growing impatient.  
  
So, Odin was his name...  
  
"Oh dear," the man spoke in an innocent tone. "I arrived to visit my little brother, and this still the warmest welcome I'll ever get..."  
  
Loki burrowed his eyebrows. Odin had caught him off guard, and now seemed to make it impossible for Loki to do anything. Especially since Mayura was here. Sometimes she had the worst timing in the world. If it were possible, Loki would gladly attempt to kill off Odin for the umpteenth time right now. Loki found he had no choice but to slightly lower his staff.  
  
"Loki... he's your brother?" Mayura asked.  
  
Loki didn't leave his glare. "...yeah."  
  
Mayura found herself in thought. She knew it! Loki did have relatives after all.  
  
"Yes, he's my DEAR younger brother. We had problems in our family though, so we ended up seperating everywhere. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to be at his side when he needed me most..." Odin grew a mischievous grin. "Loki didn't tell you anything about his family?"  
  
Mayura's curiousity sparked. "...n...no, he didn't..."  
  
"Well, that's our Loki, always keeping secrets." Odin sighed as he walked up to Loki and ruffled his hair. "But sadly, I have to make this a quick visit. I just arrived in town, and I have so many other things to prepare."  
  
Loki squeezed his eyes shut in disgust, having being touched by him. He even forgot to breathe. Odin next went to Mayura. He picked up her hand and kissed it, bidding her farewell. And much to Loki's relief, he made his way to the front gates, greeting Yamino and Fenrir as they scurried to where Loki was. Yamino glanced an extremely worried look at Loki, while Loki stared at his feet. Mayura couldn't keep her eyes off of Odin as he walked out of the gate. And as he walked out, a crow flew to him. At first it looked like a normal crow, but then she saw hints of red and gold sparkles, as if it carried jewels on it. Her eyes widened, and she started to walk towards the entrance, but Loki's staff stopped in front of her, blocking her way.  
  
"Mayura..." Loki breathed, his voice still shaky. "I don't want you to have ANYTHING to do with that guy. I know you never listened to me before, but I swear... this is the one time you will regret it deeply if you ignore me..."  
  
Mayura frowned. She wanted to ask so many questions, about Loki's family and everything. But Loki really didn't seem to like his brother much. She really wanted to know if he really was bad news, despite his looks and his charms. Yamino didn't seem to like Odin either.  
  
"...he didn't do anything else to you, did he?" Loki asked solemnly.  
  
"...no... just... greeted hello..." Mayura quietly replied, not enjoying the mood.  
  
Silence followed the whole group as they slowly made their way inside the house. And it continued to follow them for the rest of the day.  
  
*****  
  
The voices grew fuzzy in her head, and the picture was blurry. Mayura was nodding off in class again. Her friend from behind her poked her back, and she woke up for a second, but everything resumed to fuzz. Luckily for her, class was over, and everyone was collecting their books for the end of the day. But she still felt sleepy, and her head fell to the desk as her brain threatened to shut off on her.  
  
"Oi, Daidouji!" an irritated voice came from beside her.  
  
"Naaa...." Mayura replied as her head tilted on the desk.  
  
"...Then I guess I'm going to Loki's without you."  
  
Mayura immediately woke up. She was still sleepy, but going to Loki's was a vital part of her life. She looked to her side, and there stood Narugami with an annoyed look on his face. She then finally realized that class was over, and began to pack her things as she apologized to Narugami. She also realized that someone else could be staring at her. She looked at the window, and her eyes soon lead her to the class doors, where Kotarou was just turning his head and leaving. She could've sworn he was staring at her, but then again it was probably for the same annoying reason.  
  
"Yeah yeah yeah, just hurry up." Narugami sighed. "That was the sixth time you almost fell asleep in class today. Did you not get enough sleep last night or something?"  
  
Mayura shook her head. "I did sleep pretty late, but not late enough where I would feel this tired. It's probably just one of those days." She stood up and stretched, and grabbed her bag.  
  
"Haha. What were you doing?" Narugami asked, being nosy.  
  
"Thinking."  
  
"About?"  
  
"...Loki, why?"  
  
Narugami snickered. "Oh, Daidouji, I didn't know that thinking about Loki would keep you up at ni--"  
  
Narugami was stopped short as his face met Mayura's school bag. "That's sick, Narugami. Loki's only a child."  
  
"...ow..." was Narugami's only manageable reply.   
  
He wished he could've said more, but he wasn't really looking forward to having Loki tear him up to death with his wrath. It wasn't like it was wrong, anyways. She didn't know it, but Mayura was already infatuated with Loki's original self. And sometimes... just SOMETIMES... Narugami swore that Loki liked Mayura for his own unknown reasons. It would create problems, that's for sure, but Narugami wouldn't be surprised at all if something in them clicked. Narugami and Mayura were soon outside on a familiar road, and his thoughts were quickly interrupted by a determined Mayura.  
  
"I want crepes." Mayura announced, pointing at a nearby stand.  
  
Narugami looked at her unbelieveably. "What?"  
  
"You promised." Mayura stated.  
  
"...I said MAYBE. And I didn't say right away." Narugami scratched the back of his head, regrettably remembering what he had said the day before.  
  
"I want crepes." Mayura repeated again, insisting her idea.  
  
Narugami sighed, seeing this was going nowhere. So he bought her a crepe. And not long after Mayura's finished crepe, they were nearing Loki's place. But Mayura was slowing down. He stopped and turned around, waiting for her.  
  
"Hurry up." Narugami commanded.  
  
"I'm sleepy..." Mayura whined, rubbing her eyes and dragging her feet. And as she approached Narugami, she slightly fell on him as if she were going to fall asleep there.  
  
Narugami's face flushed a little, hoping no one was there. Rumours spread like wildfires, and he really didn't want anyone to get the wrong idea. He never thought of Mayura that way, but it sure wasn't often that he had a girl fall asleep on him. The only girl he ever really liked was Yayoi anyways.  
  
"I guess it can't be helped," Narugami sighed and picked up Mayura on his back.  
  
Mayura mumbled something. She wasn't sleeping after all, but she was also barely awake. They soon arrived at Loki's place. Narugami was barely able to knock the door. Yamino came to greet them.  
  
"What happened?" Yamino asked with a surprised face.  
  
"She fell asleep." Narugami explained.  
  
"not... asleep..." Mayura mumbled.  
  
Yamino frowned as he looked at the half-sleeping girl, about to suggest that they take her home. But then a thought tugged the edge of his brain, causing him to immediately thinking of yesterday's incident.   
  
"Perhaps you should talk to Loki-sama about this."  
  
Narugami raised a brow, perking some curiousity. At the same time, Mayura was trying to get off him. He lowered himself as he let her off.  
  
"Uhh..." Narugami started, unsure of his choice.  
  
"I'll be fine. We're at Loki's house already after all." Mayura managed a sleepy smile.  
  
"...Sure..." Narugami replied.  
  
Loki was already waiting for them in his office, drinking his tea as usual. As they walked in, they greeted eachother as usual. The teacups on the nearby coffee table were there, set by Yamino before he went to get the door, as usual. Ecchan was plastered on his head, as usual. Then he noticed Mayura.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"She's tired," Yamino explained. Then he frowned. "Loki-sama..."  
  
Narugami looked at Loki, who seemed to silently agree whole-heartedly with Yamino. Mayura was twirling her spoon in her tea, trying to follow what the three boys were talking about. Then Loki turned to Mayura.  
  
"Have you been tired all day?" Loki asked.  
  
"Uhh... kinda. I feel better though, why?" Mayura queried.  
  
"Oh. No. It's just..." Loki's voice trailed off, starting to mumble to himself. "...wonder if he has anything to do..."  
  
Mayura piped up immediately. "Oh! That guy you told me to stay clear of, Odin, right??"  
  
Narugami, who was in the middle of sipping tea, had no choice but to spit it all back in his cup. Mayura looked at him questioningly. Narugami ignored Mayura, however, and payed all his attention to Loki. Loki, however, looked quite alarmed from Mayura's reaction, as if he were already expecting a big mess.  
  
"Father was here?!" Narugami blurted out.  
  
"Narugami's... FATHER?" Mayura's face went blank, and she quickly thought it over. "That Odin guy is Loki's older brother AND Narugami's dad??"  
  
Narugami facefaulted while dropping his mouth, and Loki slapped his hand on his forehead, hiding his face. Yamino decided not to take any part in this and floated to the kitchen.  
  
"WIERD MYSTERY!!" Mayura exclaimed excitedly. "Loki and Narugami are so oddly related! No wonder why I never knew!! Who would want to let people know of this weird mystery??"  
  
"No no no NO!" Loki waved his hands, trying to correct his mistake. He totally knew Mayura wouldn't believe his story, but tried anyways. "Uhh... it's just that... my brother and his dad happen to have the same name! So... Naruka-...Narugami was CONFUSED for a second, RIGHT Narugami??"  
  
Narugami looked at Loki in confusion before he understood. "Oh. OH! Right, RIGHT! Yeah, hahaha, had me fooled there for a second, Loki!"  
  
Mayura blinked and frowned. "Oh... so THAT'S how it is..."  
  
Narugami and Loki looked at Mayura, sighing in relief. She did buy it after all. The last thing Loki wanted to do was involve Mayura in his issues. Narugami and Loki both relaxed back in their seats. Loki leaned forward on his desk, folding and hooking his fingers to support his chin, and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he looked at Mayura, who had suddenly nodded off, sleeping in a sitting position.  
  
Narugami noticed this as well, and waved his hand in front of her, making sure she was really asleep this time. Narugami looked at Loki, who sighed and called for Yamino. Yamino soon came, and went to retrieve a blanket as Narugami set Mayura so she was lying down. Loki set himself in a pensive mode, even when Yamino and Narugami were covering Mayura with the blanket.  
  
"There haven't been any signs that Odin has anything to do with it..." Loki thought. "He definitely didn't set her to sleep with his own powers."  
  
Narugami nodded in agreement. "She didn't seem in pain at all. Just really tired."  
  
Loki remained in his thinking pose, and soon got up. "I'm gonna check the area he hung around outside..."  
  
"I'll go with you." Narugami offered.  
  
Yamino had already left to attend to the daily household chores, with Ecchan as his company. Fenrir was somewhere else, sleeping. Loki stepped outside, and decided to begin examining his yard. He didn't really find anything, and he frowned in frustration. Soon, Narugami called for his attention.  
  
"Did you find something?" Loki queried in a hopeful tone.  
  
"Not QUITE. I do highly doubt, however, that anyone would come in just to throw an apple under the bushes." Narugami explained.  
  
Loki looked under the bush that was now in front of him, and sure enough, there was a full apple with a bite pierced in the middle. And Narugami was right; Mayura had never just thrown anything anywhere. And it was impossible for someone outside to throw an apple OVER his walled gates and have it land in the bushes. Now, if someone were INSIDE the gates, then it would be possible. Loki pinched the stem of the apple and dragged it out, not really wanting to touch something that was already half rotten.  
  
He brought it out into the light, and realized the apple, although it seemed perfectly normal, seemed oddly familiar. He had seen this kind of apple somewhere before. And Narugami indirectly answered what Loki currently sought.  
  
"Ahhh... an apple... it reminds me of back home... I sure would like to visit Idun's apple tree again..." Narugami sighed.  
  
Loki's eyes widened. "That's it, Narukami! This *IS* an apple from Idun's apple tree!"  
  
Narugami's eyes also widened, in excitement. "Are you serious?? Ahh... too bad it's already rotten and dirty..."  
  
But the apple was thrown down; Loki wasn't paying attention. Narugami was caught by surprise, and Loki was soon running back into the mansion. Narugami followed Loki as fast as he could. Loki obviously found an answer, especially since he knew Loki hated running. He found himself in Loki's book room, where Mayura was sleeping. Everything went so fast, that it took time for Narugami to realize that Loki's mouth had connected with Mayura's.  
  
Narugami sputtered at first, trying to say something, until he finally formed a sentence.  
  
"Loki... what the HELL are you doing?? I know you like Mayura, but this is NOT the time and place...!"  
  
Loki did not reply.  
  
"...Loki... you could at LEAST come up for air..."  
  
And Loki did come up for air. But he immediately grasped his chest and collapsed on his knees. He was choking.  
  
"I *TOLD* you to come up for ai-"  
  
"This is no... laughing... matter... Narugami..." Loki said between coughs and chokes, as he leant over closer to the floor.  
  
Narugami paused as he tried to play with this new puzzle in his head. It soon faded as Loki coughed out something big, black and slimy on the floor. His eyes widened in disgust.  
  
"...what are you waiting... for? Kill it!" Loki commanded, catching his breath.  
  
"U..uhmm... right!" Narugami stuck out Mjollnir and cut the blob in half, and it dissipated into the air.  
  
Loki sat upright and took a deep, long breath. "Thank goodness... I realized what was going on before it got worse..."  
  
Narugami looked almost disappointed and crossed his arms. "What did this have to do with Idun's apple?"  
  
Loki took no hesitation in explaining. "Idun's apples are the God's food, and can keep them immortal. However, humans aren't used to this type of food, and will cause them to sleep to prolong immortality. Odin probably bit into a piece and cursed it to kill her from the inside, and it would be easier done when she's sleeping."  
  
After thinking, Narugami understood. "I get it... but why Mayura? She has absolutely nothing to do with us."  
  
"...She does, Narukami." Loki stated sadly. "The minute I met her. I don't want her involved with our problems though... Odin should be after ME to kill me, not Mayura."  
  
Narugami sighed. "If we could get her to forget about us, we could completely ditch contact with her..."  
  
"I already tried that." Loki said, shaking his head as he recalled the last two weeks in attempt to return to Asgard.  
  
Silence ensued for a couple of minutes, when Narugami threw a question at Loki.  
  
"So... that wasn't a kiss then?"  
  
Loki's eyes widened in shock staring at Narugami. "What th... NO! No, it wasn't! I already explained to you...!"  
  
"You are SO falling for her, Loki." Narugami laughed.  
  
"I am NOT." Loki protested as politely as possible. Much to his relief, Yamino, Ecchan and Fenrir were nowhere near their presence.  
  
And much to Narugami's disappointment, Mayura started to stir, waking up.  
  
*****  
  
Mayura found it odd that she fell asleep at Loki's house. She was thankful that no new mysteries had shown up, otherwise she would've regretted it for the rest of her life. Instead, she gave herself a light scolding and set a decision to sleep early that night. She was already halfway home, just entering the usual park. The corner of her eye caught a jewelled bird flying to the middle of the park, which soon landed on the shoulder of a person with long silvery hair.  
  
"...oh! Mr. Odin...!" Mayura exclaimed.  
  
The man turned around and faced Mayura, with a gentle smile on his face. "Please, 'Odin' is just fine."  
  
Mayura smiled in return, and decided to approach. Loki's warning popped into her head and stopped her, and she hesitated. He couldn't be a bad guy, could he? She was pretty sure that it was due to Loki's own opinion. Even gangsters had their good sides.  
  
"I was just checking out the area..." Odin explained. "This is a very beautiful neighbourhood around here. You and Loki are most blessed with such a place."  
  
Mayura smiled. "Yeah, especially the park."  
  
"Loki didn't cause you any trouble, did he?"  
  
"...no, Loki never does that. We do have our disagreements, but overall he's a sweet boy. Really weird, but sweet." Mayura stated. And what she said was true. Staying at Loki's place everyday was her daily highlight.  
  
"Oh, really? I'm so glad to hear that." Odin grinned. "Loki can be pretty troublesome sometimes, so I'm actually surprised that he's acting differently towards you."  
  
Mayura just smiled in reply, not quite understanding what Odin meant. They chatted for a while as the night started to fall. The park glowed a brilliant orange in the presence of the sunset. Soon, Odin stood up with a suggestion.  
  
"I noticed an open area just behind those woods over there," Odin started.  
  
"Yeah! The sky view is great over there. Shall we go?" Mayura grinned as she started to bounce ahead, assuming his answer.  
  
"Oh, I'd love to." Odin affirmed, as his grin became crooked behind Mayura's back.  
  
*****  
  
A clear brown liquid spilled all over the wooden desk, accompanying the sound of a ceramic tea cup falling over. Loki had just advanced to pick it up, and it toppled over somehow. A nervous feeling ran throughout Loki's body, as he stared in shock at the accident he had made.  
  
"Loki-sama?" Yamino queried worriedly.  
  
"What's up?" Narugami asked, who was waiting for a free dinner to roll around.  
  
Fenrir seemed to have just woken up as he ran into the room, feeling something for sure, and Ecchan curled itself up on Yamino's shoulder while quivering and murmuring elementary pronounciations of the word "scared". An unwelcomed, blatant aura had entered the room, interrupting everyone's thoughts. And all everyone could do was stare wide-eyed into space, feeling fear while they were recognizing it. Loki was the first to act as he pounded his fist on his desk in anger, which gave everyone quite a startle.  
  
"I told that idiot not to go near him!" Loki mumbled loudly to himself as he scurried out the door, summoning Laevatein.  
  
"Daddy??" the startled and suddenly lonely puppy piped up with a quiver in his voice. Narugami and Yamino seemed to have called for him at the same time, as Ecchan uncurled and floated over Fenrir.  
  
They were in too much of shock, and it was too late to follow Loki now. Loki was gone.  
  
*****  
  
"Uwaaaaa," Mayura exclaimed in delight as the sky started to light the stars. "It's so pretty... it would be great if you could share this with Loki...!"  
  
Odin nodded in agreement. "I'm sure he'll find it extravagant."  
  
Mayura turned. "You talked to Loki earlier?"  
  
"No, but he's coming," Odin said, shaking his head. "Trust me, Miss Mayura, he will come."  
  
She couldn't help but smile to herself. Odin really wasn't a bad guy. He was really concerned about his younger brother. She was glad, in fact, that Odin was really set on trying to mend their broken relationship together. She was looking away, so she hadn't noticed until now, but warmth had envelopped the length of her back. She didn't know why, but she gladly accepted it. It wasn't long before Odin had his arms wrapped around her, hugging her from behind. Mayura was slightly startled, but only blushed in reply. Odin's arms tightened a little, almost as if he was holding her securely in a protective way.  
  
"See, he's already here." Odin whispered into her ear.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Dun dun duuunnn. Battle ensues next chapter! *laughs evilly* and the angst sets off from there ~_~;; Yes, Odin is being creepy. But that will stop in the next chapter. ^^; Well. His creepy attitude around Mayura, anyways.  
  
Constructive criticism is always welcomed, as it would be nice to improve on whatever little mistakes I've made that's been bugging you.  
  
Uhmm.... and yeah, if you're still interested in being on a mailing list type thing so my laziness doesn't keep you waiting, drop me a line or something. ^^  
  
See you next chapter! Ciao!  
  
Angel_P 


	4. Discovery

Final Worlds  
  
Author's Notes: Uhmm... sorry for the long time it took me to update ; school and junk took over. And then my laptop decided to crap out, which is where the fanfic WAS living. Luckily, I was able to move the fanfic safely to the other computer... ; hahahahaha..... coughs  
  
Anyhow! Things get somewhat exciting in this chapter. evil glinting eyes be prepared! evil laugh. I said I was gonna finish this fanfic no matter what. And eventually finished it's going to get! I still have the main ideas in my head, so... here we go!!   
  
Disclaimers: Matantei Loki (Ragnarok) is owned by Sakura Kinoshita. Everyone must discover the goodness of her works. XD  
  
Loki decided, after all, to stay on earth. No one understood why, not even Loki himself. Displeased with Loki's choice,  
  
Odin decides to take matters into his own hands... (MayuraxLoki. You have been warned. )  
  
------------------------------  
  
The night sky was fairly chilly and silent. The current situation added a great amount to that atmosphere. The only warmth Mayura felt was from Odin, who was hugging her from behind. Other than that, she could feel Loki's anger. He was drenched in sweat, as he ran as fast as he could. It was surprising, too, since Loki hated running. There were electric sparks as Odin and Loki's gaze crossed one another. It was then that Mayura felt that it was a bad idea for them to have a sweet reunion. She could feel it.  
  
"Let her go..." Loki said quietly inbetween breaths, tightening his grip on Laevatein.  
  
Mayura felt a warm heavy breath collect on her cheek as Odin chuckled. "Even if you know I won't?"  
  
She was beginning to be unsure of this situation. Odin seemed to be acting differently. Perhaps Odin really was what Loki said. Loki didn't seem to be very stable. He was shaking about as much as he did yesterday. She still didn't quite understand what was going on. But it seemed like she would find out the hard way today.  
  
"You don't have to worry, Loki. I don't intend to hurt anyone." Odin explained. "I would just like Mayura to listen to our family story..."  
  
Loki burrowed his eyebrows, bearing his fangs like a wolf. He was running all the possibilities in his head of what exactly Odin is planning. Then Loki realized Odin's will. His eyes widened as he figured it was time to high-tail it out of there. It was no wonder Odin unleashed that disgusting aura. Odin WANTED Loki to come; it was a trap from the beginning. It would have been better, as Mayura probably could've dealt without Loki just this one time. He turned around and started to run, even though he knew from the beginning that it was probably already too late.  
  
And too late, it was. Loki wasn't able to dash far enough, and before he knew it, his feet were already glued onto the ground. He was still in their sight. His nerves were running overtime, however, so even if he knew how helpless he already was, he still attempted to struggle out.  
  
"You already know that your attempts are futile..." Odin sighed.  
  
Mayura really started to feel scared. This really was a mysterious mystery, but somehow she didn't want to be involved in this one. Loki, the kid who seemed to be able to overcome almost anything, was cemented to the ground, struggling aimlessly to get out. She tried to pick up her foot, but stopped in finding that she too, was motionless.  
  
"I do sincerely apologize, Miss Mayura," Odin said, "but we need to be safe and secure, no?"  
  
Mayura gulped, and all Odin could do was smile back.  
  
"Don't worry, I said I have no intention of engaging in battle."  
  
"...then what?"  
  
"Miss Mayura, have you ever heard of Norse Mythology?"  
  
Mayura shook her head slowly. "I've HEARD of it, but I know almost nothing about it..."  
  
Odin smiled as traced his finger down her cheek. "Norse Mythology is from the times of the Vikings in the European region... their beliefs involved many Gods of battle. The leader of all these gods was endowed with the name Odin. Odin had two brothers, Ve and Vili. Odin is the father of five sons; Hod, Hermoth, Vidar, Thor, and Baldur."  
  
Loki had given up struggling, as he stared harshly at the ground in defeat. Mayura couldn't even make out his face. She was still extremely confused, as if Odin were making up some sort of weird story. But Mayura could've sworn that Loki winced when Odin mentioned the name Baldur.  
  
"Odin also adopted a brother. There was a mischeivous lad, who wanted to become a part of the family. So we held a ceremony, cut our fingers and exchanged our blood in eachother's body, making us blood brothers."  
  
Odin lifted himself from Mayura and walked a little to the side, holding his robed arm close to her face. She looked at him, but he pointed to Loki.  
  
"The name of that boy, Miss Mayura," Odin started, as he lifted his hand. She couldn't see anything for a second; his robes covered her eyes in the dark. His robe fell upon his arm as he lifted it high up, and a bright light was caused. She closed her eyes, and then slowly opened them to see something unexpected.  
  
"... is Loki." Odin finished.  
  
To Mayura's shock, the little boy wasn't there anymore. Instead, stood the man who always referred himself as God, looking angrier than ever. The young man always remained a mystery to her; maybe that added to the reason why she liked him. Not only was he the most handsome man she had ever seen, he seemed to want to keep his identity a secret. He never wanted to tell her his name, and now the reason made perfect sense. Even though somehow she understood that the small child genius and the mysterious young man were the same person, everything else didn't make sense at all. She tried to soak this new fact in her head. She believed it, yet at the same time she couldn't.  
  
This man is Loki.  
  
Loki, the child-genius detective.  
  
"Oh? Loki really didn't tell you anything, did he?" Odin asked softly, pretending to be surprised.  
  
Mayura couldn't respond at all. Her eyes were still wide in shock, trying to make her believe. She couldn't shut them no matter how much she wanted to.  
  
A fierce aura was trying to break out of Loki as a mean red glow manifested around him. Odin gave a little smile and released Mayura and Loki from their hold. But everything that was happening made Mayura too scared to move.  
  
"Mayura, run..." Loki growled.  
  
"B...but..." Mayura stammered.  
  
"GET OUT OF HERE!" Loki yelled angrily, confirming his request.  
  
She didn't want to, but the tone in his voice seemed to scare her feet as they carried her a little further away to safety. She didn't bother to hide, as she still wanted to see what was going to happen. It seemed to be okay with Loki, too, as he deemed that it was safe enough.  
  
In almost an instant, Loki was trying to slice Laevatein through a barrier like substance in front of Odin. As Loki forced the friction, bolts of static were carried across the barrier. Loki's attempt didn't work, however, as the collected static power kicked him off and threw him to the side. Loki was blinded by anger, and even in his pain, continued to swing at his target. Each time, Loki tried to add auras of power to his staff, but that took time, and Odin would start to make moves when he was in such a defenseless position.  
  
Loki was finally able to cut through that barrier, and had Laevatein only inches from his head. But Odin once again had disappeared. He moved closer to Loki in a blink of an eye, and delivered a powerful blow to his stomach. The park they were fighting in was wide open, so Loki's body flew and skidded to a stop a few good feet away from Odin.  
  
Even though Loki was in his most powerful form, he became too careless. His body was crippled for the time being, yet he forced himself to stand up. He stood, but whatever Odin mixed in with that punch drained him of all his energy. He reverted back to his childish body and collapsed.  
  
Odin lowered his head. "That wasn't much of a fight, now, was it? Does the mind and body really become weaker when a loved one is involved?"  
  
After Mayura witnessed all this, she wanted to flock to Loki's small body and help him. Yet, with all that had happened, fear decided to bind her to her spot in the end. It wasn't just because of Odin, either. She remembered the flicker of red eyes she had seen not too long ago. Those were Loki's eyes. And now she witnessed the great power within him.  
  
Odin smiled. "The human heart is a fickle thing, they say. I think things will become a lot more interesting from here..."  
  
And with that, Odin left.  
  
The fear-bound Mayura was able to stand up now. She hesitantly went to Loki, but couldn't say a word. It looked like as if Loki was barely able to move. He had his little arms trying their hardest to push him back up, but so far, it had been unsuccessful. But even though Loki's true power struck fear into the core of her heart, she couldn't help but think of him as the Loki she had always known. So she slipped her hands under his arms and helped him to sit up, so he was looking straight at her.  
  
"A... are you... okay?" Mayura managed to ask.  
  
Loki did feel a bit more calm, but it really didn't take much concentration to see that as worried as Mayura was, she was still scared beyond belief. Her voice still quivered, and her eyes, even though they looked sad, looked so hesitant to even face him.  
  
"I should... be... the one asking you that..." Loki managed to reply softly, wincing a couple of times at the pain that still remained in his stomach.  
  
The two didn't say anything at all after that. Loki's pain was obvious to Mayura, so regardless of the silence, she collected him on her back anyways. The new moonlight spilled over them as Mayura headed over to Loki's place. As Mayura left the park, Loki's head felt a little heavier on her shoulder as he fell asleep.  
  
----------------------------  
  
"Loki-sama!!" That was all Yamino could manage as he opened the door. "Mayura, what happened?"  
  
Mayura opened her mouth to say something. She was prepared to tell Yamino the whole story, but closed her mouth in decision not to and looked down. Perhaps Yamino doesn't know, either. As she looked down, Fenrir came up and barked alarmingly, running around in circles thinking of what he could do.  
  
"I... don't know... I found him like this..." Mayura replied.  
  
Yamino couldn't help but feel skeptical about it. It could be true, but her hesitation seemed to hint that something really big happened. Not only that, Loki dashed off earlier all of a sudden, cursing about how he told someone not to go near Odin; that someone was obviously Mayura. However, Yamino didn't want to push any matters, and decided to stay quiet as well.   
  
Mayura turned around so that Yamino can take Loki. Yamino picked up Loki and hauled his head and arms over his shoulders, carrying him as a parent would with any child. Without Yamino's and Mayura's notice, Loki slowly opened his eyes in pretense that he was still sleeping. Ecchan greeted him with a worried look.  
  
"Thank you for bringing him back..." Yamino finally said.  
  
"Y...yeah... he's only sleeping now... I hope he gets better soon though..." Mayura replied, looking down again.  
  
"...Mayura... are you okay? Did something happen?"  
  
Mayura's head perked up, realizing that perhaps she was acting a tad too shy. "No! Nothing happened... it's just that... I found Loki like that... I'm... just really worried... I hope no one's... bullying him!"  
  
Loki had to raise an eyebrow or two at this lousy cover up.  
  
Yamino frowned. He couldn't push her to tell the truth after all. "I... uhh... hope so too..."  
  
"Well then... I'll... see you later!" Mayura smiled. It was a smile, but definitely not a true smile.  
  
"Take care," Yamino replied.  
  
Loki decided to close his eyes again. Fenrir was waiting patiently at Yamino's side, so fortunately for Loki, that meant less explaining. He trusted Ecchan, too. He really didn't want to explain anything. Not this time. He only felt worse as guilt loomed over his head.  
  
--------------------------  
  
Kotarou couldn't help but feel Mayura's silence. She was usually peppy or complaining about something; he would've at least heard her during breaks, no matter how loud the classroom became. She looked perfectly normal, yet somehow, she looked almost sad. Class had ended, and Mayura was quickly gathering her things. Like always, she was out the door within a few seconds of the last bell.  
  
"Does she always go to that detective kid's house after school?" Kotarou asked, turning to Narugami.  
  
"Yeah, it's become a religion for her. At least it makes things a lot more interesting around there." Narugami grinned, knowing that Loki would kill him for the hint he was trying to make. "Although I do wish I could be there. I've been working so much at that new place lately; I haven't even had time to stop by their place for dinner."  
  
"Don't you think she was a little quiet, lately?" Kotarou asked. "Because after all, it IS Daidouji. She's usually on a non-stop spazzing trip."  
  
"Haha, maybe she's just love-struck." Narugami's grin grew wider, although he had to admit that he would be shocked if that were the case. Then again, he wouldn't be surprised in the end.  
  
"WHAT?" Kotarou's eyes grew wider.  
  
"Whoa, I was only kidding." Narugami raised an eyebrow, surprised at the way that Kotarou took it.  
  
"Jeez. Well, whatever. I just can't see that girl going out with anyone." Kotarou retorted, somehow feeling that it was more of a cover-up than a true statement. "Anyways, I have to head over to the library. I need to study, unlike certain people."  
  
Kotarou made a beautiful finish as his cocky personality kicked back in. He could feel Narugami's glare at his back. And he couldn't help but feel the fact that Mayura could be going out with someone. It just didn't seem right.  
  
The library wasn't that far away, so Kotarou made it there in good time. He proceeded inside, and walked down the main path. But as he was looking for the section he needed, he noticed Mayura scanning for a book as well. Surprised, he made his way to her side.  
  
"Daidouji? What are you doing here?"  
  
Mayura lifted up her finger, startled. "Ah...! Kotarou!"  
  
"I'm surprised. Since when did you decide to study? I thought you'd be running over to that kid-detective's place." Kotarou asked, expecting a good answer. He looked over at the shelf they were standing in front of. Religion.  
  
"Oh...! Loki wasn't feeling very well yesterday, so I thought I'd... let him rest today." Mayura explained.  
  
"I see... and you're in the library, because...?" Kotarou tried to further the explanation.  
  
"...Don't you think religion is made of wierd mysteries??! I mean... look at all these different cultures. There's so many different mythologies..." She grinned.  
  
"I didn't know you were interested in that." Kotarou said, raising a brow. "I guess I was wrong, you're not really studying for school after all."  
  
Kotarou was hoping that teasing her would bring out a little bit of that angry spirit.  
  
"Nope." Mayura said, plainly.  
  
"Well... are you going to be reading in the library? We could just sit at the same table, if you want. I can even help you research, if need be." Kotarou offered, somehow hoping she would react accordingly this time.  
  
"Sure."  
  
In silent agreement, Kotarou then left to look for his book. Somehow disappointed, but at the same time, accepting. He wasn't really sure if he could call it accepting, though. It was different. He pulled out the books he needed and joined Mayura, who already found a table. It really felt odd, however. Sitting at the same table with Mayura in silence was definitely a first. In fact, it was bugging him; he couldn't concentrate on what he was studying. Every time he tried to read a line, he ended up rereading it, and it was only at the end of the line that he noticed what he was doing. Nothing was going in his head. But of course, he couldn't just look at her, so he tried to concentrate.  
  
Finally, he was getting some information soaked in his head, but then Mayura closed the big book in front of her and got up.  
  
"Hey, sorry, but I gotta go for now." Mayura said. Her voice seemed almost sad.  
  
"Oh? Okay..." Kotarou agreed, not really knowing what he could say. They were only there for ten minutes;  
  
Mayura got up and left in a hurry, not bothering to return the book. Kotarou took a peek at the book she was reading. He had absolutely no idea why she would have such interest in it, but maybe it really was what she stated. Maybe she really did find mythology quite interesting. He put his research notes and book aside, picked up the book and turned to the first page of the book. "The Folktales of Norse Mythology".  
  
-------------------------------  
  
Mayura didn't really get that far in the book, but reading it made her feel uneasy and decided that she didn't want to read anymore. It was interesting, and scary at the same time. Somehow, she really wanted to test the theory from reading in the dictionary section. If Loki and Odin, both Norse Gods, were on Earth, then there must be others. And she stumbled upon a few familiar names. Now, there's a possibility she could be completely wrong, but she really wanted to test her theory. And much to her luck, the people she wanted to see; one was making a good pace, walking up to her, right now.  
  
"Yamato Nadeshiko!!" Freyr squealed excitedly.  
  
"Hi," Mayura greeted.  
  
Freyr was too stunned by the presence of his princess and could only stare in splendid stupor. Soon, he decided that in order to look cool, all he had to do was show that he had his buddy wrapped around his finger.  
  
"Oi, Heim! Hurry it up!" Freyr waved around his arms.  
  
Mayura's eyes widened a little, as Freyr opened a path for her. Then looked down.  
  
"So... how's your sister doing?" Mayura asked quietly.  
  
"Aww shucks...! Yamato Nadeshiko's worried about my other family members! Unfortunately, this Freyr hasn't been able to find his lovely sister, Freya, yet."  
  
"Oh, that's too bad... I hope you find her soon!" Mayura grinned, trying to give Freyr a hopeful look. "Anyways, I'd better run off. I've got quite a few things to do!"  
  
Freyr, in happyland, just waved to her, happy that she graced him with her voice. But then something struck him. He knew that she knew Freya; he accidently bubbled that out when he was trying to save her club. But he never recalled saying that Freya is his sister.  
  
"Oh! Hey, Heimdall. I'll see you later, okay?" Mayura happily greeted Heimdall as she ran off.  
  
Heimdall stopped in his tracks, wide-eyed, as the pink haired girl ran off. He slowly turned around as he watched her turn a corner.  
  
"There's definitely something strange." Freyr deducted. "Maybe..."  
  
"Damn that Loki!" Heimdall cursed loathingly under his breath. "He's gone as far as telling that STUPID woman of his..."  
  
"...Maybe Yamato Nadeshiko is stalking Freyr!!! Ohhh, that's so bad, but somehow Freyr is REALLY happy!!!" Freyr blushed, dancing around.  
  
"STUPID!" Heimdall scathed. "Loki's putting that GIRL up against us! He's up to something!"  
  
"NO! Yamato Nadeshiko is too shy to express her love, so she's finding out about Freyr's information!"  
  
"You really are dumb. She called me by my full name. If she didn't know, that stupid nick-name 'Heim' wouldn't supply as a good enough hint...!"  
  
"Well, Yamato Nadeshiko should KNOW by now that you're my friend! Maybe she's stalking you too!"  
  
"STUPID!" Heimdall was getting more than enough of Freyr's stupidity. "Either way, we're going to pay Loki a visit soon."  
  
It was high time that Heimdall should come down to mature matters with his worst enemy.  
  
-------------------------------------------  
  
PHEW. Done. Wow. Sorry for the long wait. Hahaha.  
  
Someone was saying that Odin was a little too scary. ; well. This is an angsty fic, so I guess it kinda fits. And Odin is the biiiiig big antagonist here.   
  
Well. :) the anime IS different from the manga, and I'm basing this as a continuation from the anime (MINUS the appearance of Spica at the very very very very end ).. eheh. Odin is actually... quite FLOOPY, in the manga. ; Haha.  
  
I kinda felt this chapter was poorly written (especially the uber bad so-called action scene! Ack!)... ahahaha...  
  
Uhm.... but yeah. I guess I'll also take this time to thank you guys for your wonderful comments TT. It really inspires me to finish this fic . I wish it could be on a DevArt basis, where everyone can reply to comments... haha...  
  
Because I'm so slow (sorries!!!!), if you'd like, let me know if you'd like me to email as I finish chapters xx...  
  
And yeah. I'm still set on making a doujin one day maybe in the far off future. Maybe I should do that soon, before I start losing interest in Loki ; eheh.  
  
Anyways. I'm rambling, and should end here. -; La la la. See you guys next fic! 


	5. Intermission

**Final Worlds Intermission** (April 23 2007)

Uhmm ;;; I'm assuming this will send out to watchers and people who check up regularly. So let's try it!!

I am not dead.

-.-;;; Rather, I am a terrible terrible TERRIBLE procrastinator. So bad that my last update was three years ago.

Well, it might not be so much procrastination, but more like I've had severe workloads dumped on my lazy self, hahaha. After getting my first part time job, I got myself into a kind of trouble called Animation. It's... a lot more demanding than I had originally imagined. And then I ended up procrastinating.

Don't get me wrong. Loki is still on my top list. Although my interest did actually dwindle (like I hoped it WOULDN'T), it's still one of the only stories that are much more ficcable than the others for me. The anime ending left a lot of opportunity, and actually, so did the manga. I still have the plot of this fanfic accumulated into the corners of my freakish fangirly mind, so no, I haven't forgotten. And yeah, I did say I was gonna finish this no matter what -.-;;;

Anyways, I intend to marathon the series when I get my hands on the rest of it, and hopefully be done by the time I graduate (end of june). I will then go through and edit the chapters I wrote, because I know I started slacking to a point where my writing became noticably bad. And of course, it's been three years so I'm pretty sure my writing style has changed -.-; and then I will try to get back on track.

It's likely there won't be a doujinshi of this fanfic after all, but I do have another super super short Loki doujinshi that's been sketched out. Just not inked. But I'll at least try to draw out a couple of scenes!

So, wrapping it up. I am so very sorry for the lack of updates!! I really do want to finish this fic, so even if no one's going to read it anymore, it will end up becoming a matter of pride! And since I did get pretty cocky about it, I should see to it that this personal project of mine from 4 years ago will be completed. Haha. Actually, I was surprised to wander on to FFnet to find that there were more reviews than I had imagined. T.T So to everyone who's been reading this fic, thank you so much! Now... D: you guys should go and support all the other MaLoki writers for being diligent!

Thank you for your patience. T.T

AngelP

http://angelp . deviantart . com


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